NEA President Dennis Van Roekel represents more than three million members.
The president of the National Education Association (NEA) expects to hear a few things from President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address tonight.
Dennis Van Roekel leads the 3 million member labor union, which represents public school teachers and college and university staff.
“[Obama] really talked about opportunity in his inauguration speech and that it requires an economy that works for everyone,” said Van Roekel. “He mentioned that opportunity begins with great public schools for every student.”
Van Roekel hopes the speech will include talk of early childhood education and college affordability.
He says research and experience show that funding early childhood education is “the most important investment we can make.” Continue Reading →
The agreement — known a 2+2 in higher education circles — enables students to complete a two-year Associate in Arts degree and then transfer to the upper division of a bachelor’s degree program.
The original deal was crafted in 1992 and has undergone a few updates since then.
“We want to recognize the importance of transfer opportunities and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the ideal of cooperation between public and independent sectors of post secondary education,” said Randy Hanna, chancellor of the Florida College System.
State colleges remain the primary point of access to higher education. About two-thirds of Florida’s high school graduates begin their pursuit of a post secondary degree at a Florida college. Continue Reading →
“This is not a finished product,” Rep. George Moraitis, Jr., R-Fort Lauderdale, said. “We’re still open to changes as we move forward in the process.”
The bill allows charter schools to use empty school district facilities. Charter schools would have to pay for maintenance, or reimburse the district for maintenance.
The 36-page bill would also prohibit a shuttered charter school from spending more than $10,000 without the prior written permission of the school board or other sponsor, with some exceptions.
Charter school employees would not be allowed to serve on the charter school’s governing board.
Those requirements are a direct result of a case from Orlando.
The foundation’s goal is for 60 percent of Americans to earn a high-quality post secondary credential or degree by 2025. Merisotis took questions from the audience.
Q: Does the Lumina Foundation have a position on how the university systems should price their services? In my day, the university system priced its tuition on a quarterly basis, so we took all the hours we could take per quarter. We all finished in four years flat. What do you say about that – do we need to go back?
A: You bet. There are two sides to this financing equation – two elements that you’ve got to address when you’re dealing with the issues of redesigning the financing system.
One side is the cost side, which is getting more productivity out of the enterprise. What I mean is literally increasing the capacity of the system to serve more people better.
Lumina Foundation president and CEO Jamie Merisotis. He says the number of Floridians earning higher education degrees is not keeping pace with job openings.
The percentage of Floridians earning college degrees is not increasing fast enough to keep pace with the job market, according to the head of a foundation working to boost higher education graduates.
That’s what Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation, told the Economic Club of Florida last week.
“It’s an urgent need,” Merisotis said and nearly every state is far from that goal.
“Here in Florida, according to the most recent data, 37 percent of the state’s working age residents (ages 25 to 64) have at least a two-year college degree,” Merisotis said. “That figure is virtually unchanged over the course of the last four years.”
That means the rates are flat in Florida, and “when it comes to educational progress, flat is actually frightening. That’s because educational success is increasingly linked to economic prosperity.”
Lumina’s strategic plan, Goal 2025, is to have 60 percent of Americans holding a high quality post secondary degree, certificate or other credential by 2025.
The Lumina Foundation is a donor to Florida C.A.N., which supports StateImpact Florida.
Florida comes in 12th in the most recent rankings, but it’s one of the leaders in making progress. Florida is also tied for first overall in policy – with four states getting a B+.
“I’m not sure everyone understands here in Florida just how much of a model for the rest of the country you are,” said Dr. Matt Ladner, a policy advisor at the Foundation for Excellence in Education.
“There are states all around the country that are emulating policies that originated here in the state of Florida.”
Ladner wrote the report, and the foundation he works for was founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who serves as Chairman. The report will be released later this week or next and is not yet publicly available, an ALEC spokesman said.
Ladner briefed a small lunch gathering at the James Madison Institute about the report. He said the quality of Florida’s K-12 reforms is reflected in ALEC’s report card.
JMI Resident Fellow William Mattox gives a presentation about his policy brief on expanded learning.
Researchers with the James Madison Institute argue that schools work better when students have more options for their education.
The group released a policy brief, Expanding Students’ Learning Options,to coincide with National School Choice Week. The Tallahassee think tank is an advocate for limited government.
The brief features six case studies of students involved in alternative forms of learning. All have unique schedules and reasons for not going the traditional route.
“Florida students need greater access to digital, charter and private schools, and every combination in between,” Mattox said. “The stories from our featured students demonstrate that school choice makes a world of difference.”
Gov. Rick Scott told reporters gathered at the Capitol that jobs and education are his top priorities for the upcoming legislation session.
Gov. Rick Scott is proposing a $1.2 billion increase in education funding for Kindergarten through 12th grade.
He told a gathering of reporters and newspaper editors at the Capitol today that education is one of his top agenda items for the legislative session that begins in March.
Alluding to the $1.3 billion cut to education in 2011, Scott said,”We had to make some tough choices in order to get our state back on track when I came into office. Now, we are in a position to strategically invest in statewide priorities.”
His proposal amounts to total per student funding of $6,800, an increase of more than $400 per student.
“This total includes $10.7 billion in state funding for Florida K-12 schools, the highest state funding in state history.”
The report released today finds that Florida is among the states that are “best positioned to support the growth of high-quality charter schools” based on NAPCS model law.
This is the fourth year the group has examined state laws to determine which states best support charter schools, and the ones where students are most in need of better public school options.
42 states plus the District of Columbia are included in the rankings.
Twenty components are considered when ranking the states. They include measuring quality and accountability, equitable access to funding and facilities, and limited caps on charter school growth.
National School Choice Week shines a spotlight on all effective education options for children, according to the public awareness campaign.
It’s National School Choice Week, the week advocates spotlight alternative education options for students.
They include “high-performing public schools to public charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, online learning, and homeschooling” according to a statement from schoolchoiceweek.com.
The public awareness campaign is highlighting events around the country – 672 in Florida alone – such as rallies, roundtable discussions, festivals, and school fairs.
The campaign says Governor Rick Scott signed a proclamation officially recognizing this week as “Florida School Choice Week.” Scott has been a strong proponent of school choice. Continue Reading →
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